The Gift of Simon

Symbols offered at the Buddhist Temple for Simon's Journey Beyond Death 

Who is Simon?  He is a 53 year old, Aussie guy who, on dying in My Bangkok, came unexpectedly last week into my life.   Here was his Thai home, shared with his wife.  Dying in Bangkok resulted in his parents and family in Australia not being near him, when they so wanted and needed to be at his side.  I was called in as the priest, serving as the link person between Thailand and Australia, at this crucial time.  Once again, as a priest, it has been my privilege to enter into the lives of others at a most intimate moment.  In sharing their Simon, their grief and their need, they taught me so much about life and humanity.    

My years as a priest tell me that, whether 1 or 91, death is never easy.  Whenever it happens, it gives rise to different stories, to varying levels of loss, pain and tragedy.  My years as a priest, living away from home, tell me that to have someone close to you die, far away, provides its own unique loss and challenge.  In such an eventuality, what is natural and human becomes both more complex and ever more desired.  It is natural and human to celebrate together the life of a lost, loved one.  It is natural and human to yearn for closeness around that person who has been so much a part of who they are.  The challenge becomes how.  

Despite any frustration or difficulty created by distance and separation, the determinedly held, dual focus of a wife in Bangkok and a family in Melbourne was to give Simon, their dear one, a funeral with dignity and to comfort each other in their shared loss.  At the momentous time of Simon's death, what ran the show and held it together was their love for Simon and for each other.  Throughout the week, they truly cared for each other. Their glance towards each other was ever kind, never mean, never selfish. 

Is this not a great gift to carry with oneself for life?  God cares for Simon; God cares for us. May we ever trust in a kind and generous God, no matter what may befall us.  What more could we want in life?  

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose. 
Bette Midler's The Rose